Bale throwers typically employ a pair of high speed, laterally spaced conveyors that receive bales issuing from the baler to which the thrower is attached. As each bale enters the thrower, the rapidly moving conveyors grip the bale, pull it from the baler, and propel it upwardly and rearwardly through the air to a trailing wagon or the like. Not infrequently, however, the conveyors may fail to adequately grip a bale at first engagement such that, instead of propelling the bale through the thrower, they literally tear the leading end of the bale apart as it sits substantially motionless at the entry end of the thrower.